


Latent Magic

by DrusillaTheBloody



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-11-13 08:42:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18028505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrusillaTheBloody/pseuds/DrusillaTheBloody
Summary: Where did magic really come from? and what happens when voldemort discovers magic thats been extinct for 1000 years? is hogwarts safe, and can Harry survive? Who is the mysterious Latent Witch?





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> The story wont be updated weekly but it will be updated as often as i complete a chapter. Shout out to my amazing friend and Beta Owen for being awesome. Story begins just after sirius fell through the Veil. Immediate cannon divergnce.

Somewhere in the Scottish countryside in a cave sat a witch. Observers from a distance might have noticed that she seemed a bit large and bulky compared to the average witch but would likely have shrugged it off until they got closer. She was sitting in the middle of the cave floor on what appeared to be a pink fluffy carpet that closer inspection would have shown she was weaving by hand even as she sat. If an onlooker was paying more attention, several even more incongruous things would have caught their attention. For example, the walls of the cave were coved in strange and vaguely…organic instruments that seemed to be made of the roots of trees and were studded with gems and strange metal loops. These instruments all seemed silent, yet they possessed a very foreboding air about them, and one got a sense that silent was the best way for them to be. An observer might also have noticed that the wool she was weaving was appearing out of thin air as strands of soft, multi-coloured light were being twisted together to create an endless supply of simple pink wool about 2 feet from the edge of the rug.

 The witch got up and moved to the back of the cave out of view, and a keen observer might have wondered how she had disappeared from a small cave with one chamber. A really keen and Paranoid observer might have wondered why she seemed to cock her head and listen to something before disappearing, and indeed would have been wise to do so, as both the woman and the cave were clearly very strange. However, the observer in this case was a small Scottish girl called Joanna McMoore, and she had wandered away from her parents while hiking in the Scottish Highlands. Stumbling upon the cave as she searched for them, she was fascinated. She was prone to exploring new places and hadn’t been away from her parents long enough to panic, perhaps because she was so engrossed in the cave it hadn’t occurred to her she was lost yet. Suddenly she heard a pop and the witch was standing behind her looking exasperated, though her face quickly became kind and she spoke.

“Hello there, what are you doing here? “

Joanna thought her voice was very deep, but she was too young to understand why that would be. Anyway, the witch seemed nice, if a little awkward at the sudden presence of a six-year-old girl in an unplottable cave guarding an ancient secret, not that Joanna knew that last part. She smiled and said, “Hi, I wandered away from Mummy and Daddy and I was looking for them, do you know where they’ve gone? I saw your magic yarn it’s very pretty. Mummy says I shouldn’t talk about magic because Daddy isn’t magical, and we have to keep it secret, but you’re magic so its ok to tell you right?” This came out in something of a breathless babble.  The nice witch smiled ruefully and put a hand to her brow. Lots of adults did this when she talked, she thought it was just an adult thing.

“Ok Joanna, I’m going to bring your Mummy here to you ok? Just stand still a moment” came the gentle reply. The witch closed her eyes for a moment and a look of concentration appeared on her face, before there was a brilliant flash of light and her mother was standing there looking very bewildered, with the witch behind her.

“Joanna McMoore! What are you doing here? You know not to wander off! How did I get here?! Explain yourself!” came the parental tirade from the irate mother. The strange witch behind her mother watched all this with a very amused expression on her face, and Joanna giggled as she caught her eye. Her mother began to say something no doubt to scold her, but suddenly realised where she was looking and whirled around, eyes widening in shock as she took in the appearance of the stranger. Like her daughter, she immediately recognised that they were magical, though being an adult with a magical education she realised at once something that her daughter didn’t. Her eyes just boggled  at the stranger and Joanna wondered what was wrong with her mummy.

The amused look on the stranger’s face didn’t lift as she glanced at Joanna for a second and then said cryptically, “Yes, I'm real, we exist. We aren’t myths, just very secretive. This place is a secret, but not to worry, you won’t be able to find it again once you leave.” Her mummy looked taken aback and then thoughtful but nodded without a word and took Joanna’s hand. The nice witch looked down at her again and said, “It was nice to meet you, Joanna. If you find yourself at Hogwarts when you’re older, perhaps we will meet again. I have been meaning to spend a few years there.  Don’t go exploring strange mountains on your own again, ok?” Beside Joanna her mother breathed a sigh of relief at the innocent explanation of what happened, and the witch cocked an eyebrow at her with a look that was both understanding but also irritated. Her mother looked a bit abashed at her unspoken accusation.

“Bye, stranger lady!” Joanna said enthusiastically, getting another amused look as the witch raised her arms and Joanna and her mother disappeared in another flash of light.

Shaking her head, the witch disappeared and then reappeared in her cave with a smile on her face, the sudden appearance of the two strangers having brightened her day. But the smile drained as she noticed several of the instruments blinking at once, and she felt it. It was just as described by the elders, a sickening sensation ran through her and her magic recoiled in disgust at the touch on the world, unnatural, profane magic and dark, so dark. She frantically conjured up a map of the United Kingdom and saw a dot winking in the south.

“The ministry of magic?!” she paused, watching.  “Harry potter, oh no..” she breathed.

Her magic swelled within her, bursting forth as she removed all of her self-imposed bindings, and the dark, sickening sensation was beaten back by the presence of her own magic, as she concentrated and disappeared with a pop.


	2. The Ministry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry is confronted by Voldemort at the ministry, but something far more horrible happens than anyone expected.

After the attack on the ministry, Bellatrix had cornered Harry in the atrium and dragged him before Voldemort. Looking up into the red hate-filled eyes Harry's mouth had gone dry as they turned thoughtful, then gleamed with demonic amusement.

Voldemort looked at Bellatrix and said, "The time has come, Bellatrix, for you to serve with all that you are."

Before he knew what was happening, Harry and Bellatrix were crouched at Voldemort's feet as he spoke long lines of enchantments, in a tongue that made his ears bleed and Bellatrix wince through her feral grin. It seemed to go on forever as pain unimaginable shot through his mind and his body writhed in spasms. The Cruciatus curse was nothing, , compared to this and he knew Bellatrix felt it too. Then Voldemort finished his enchantments and leered at Harry, looking more evil than Harry could have ever imagined possible. Suddenly he frowned.

"Ah yes I knew there was something missing. Hold out your arm, Potter," he spat. Before long Harry's arm was held in a deadly grip and the tip of Voldemort's wand against his forearm. His scar burst and bled in agony as Voldemort said "MORSMORDE!" The terrible mark branded into his arm as fresh waves of agony rippled through him.

"Last thing Potter, before you become my most loyal servant," Voldemort said with glee, waving his wand at both him and Bellatrix flamboyantly. Suddenly there was a cold sensation in Harry's chest and legs, and he gaped in shock at the dress that he was suddenly wearing. Looking across at Bellatrix he saw his clothes stretched over her frame and in the eyes of the dark lord he saw to his horror what was about to happen to him.

"Oh yes, Potter, you're catching on, aren't you? That spell I cast on you wasn't a torture spell, oh no. I won't bore you with the details of what I went through to acquire it but soon you will become Bellatrix Lestrange in body and then mind, forever my loyal servant." Voldemort stopped to soak in the horror and disgust on his enemy’s face, basking in it, as the thought of his fate sunk in.

"Did I mention that dear Bellatrix here will soon be you! Only her mind won't be erased...” he paused and smiled grotesquely. “I think I'm going to enjoy seeing the boy known as Harry Potter butcher all his loved ones, and by the time he does, you'll enjoy it too."

Harry's mind nearly shattered as the horror of his situation came to him. Suddenly he felt an agonising pain in his feet and watched in horror as they shrunk, the skin turning pale and black polish even appearing on his toenails. He was too shocked to react to the sound of battle around him as both he and Bellatrix began to writhe in agony as their bodies twisted and bucked.

Long hair cascaded over his face as his blurred vision suddenly cleared and his aching teeth settled down in his mouth. He looked down at his body in horror. He was only partly changed, however, the dress he was wearing now stretched over a shorter and curvier frame and his skin was like alabaster, smooth and white all over. His arms were thinner and... MERLIN’S BALLS! He had glanced towards where Bellatrix was standing in time to see his own face staring at him with a sadistic grin over the top of the agony it wore. He whimpered in shock and heard the high-pitched voice of Bellatrix in his ears. This wasn't happening! Suddenly, his forehead was hit by unbearable agony as his scar felt like it would split or explode. On the verge of consciousness, He felt a huge wrench as something was dragged out of him and shot towards the pseudo Harry. Bellatrix wasn't laughing now as the green light slammed into her and the lightning bolt shaped scar formed on her forehead.

Harry looked down as suddenly a strange pain in groin, chest and hands rippled through his body. He felt his manhood disappear with shock and horror and then his eyes just about popped out of his head as his chest swelled to fill out his dress, and he was looking at Bellatrix Lestrange's impressive alabaster cleavage hanging off his frame. He just about had time to when his eyes were dragged up to the surrounding atrium. He became aware that it was in chaos, water and glass everywhere. He saw to his great relief that Dumbledore and the dark lord had just finished a great battle, Voldemort fleeing from the wrath of the mighty light wizard.

Harry stood slowly, feeling his body moving in such alien ways almost caused his sanity to slip. , he felt an odd twitch in his memory, like a switch being flipped, and his body felt much more familiar. He didn't think anything of it for a minute until he adjusted his dress absentmindedly and froze, glancing in horror at his doppelgänger as the truth dawned on him - he was getting Bellatrix Lestrange’s memories! Oh, Merlin, this couldn't be happening!

All at once he was aware of a cacophony of voices all around him, many people shouting and roaring at him. He saw the pseudo Harry being comforted by Dumbledore. A flash of magic blinded him as cruel bindings wrapped around his new body. He could feel Bellatrix’s memories seeping into his mind like a dark tide. He was slapped and hit with stinging hexes as demands for information were flung at him until he looked up into the eyes of Albus Dumbledore. One word escaped his new lips almost fearfully and yet painfully trusting "Professor..."

Those wise blue eyes suddenly caught his own and held them with an intensity that was both terrifying and powerful. He felt a tentative probe into his mind and Dumbledore reeled away in shock, the first and only time the surrounding people had ever seen him do so. The wrath and horror on the old wizards face a truly fearful sight to behold. Grey in the face, he waved his wand at the imposter and pseudo Harry was bound in unbreakable chains. Dumbledore looked back at Harry with tears in his eyes and murmured "I'm so sorry Harry, but there is nothing I can do to reverse what has been done, I can only offer you a quick end."

Harry ignored how the bystanders roared in shock as the smartest amongst them put two and two together. He was vaguely aware of fudge saying to himself "But that magic was eradicated long ago. Before Hogwarts even existed. How can such vile evil magics even exist? Who could possibly perform such a heinous act!"

Harry was brought back to reality as a sound he had never heard before assaulted his ears. Albus Dumbledore, roaring with such volume and fury that some of the bystanders actually cowered. Never had any of them seen or heard of Dumbledore losing his temper this way, his wrath all the more terrible because it was righteous. No evil creature or dark lord had ever been so incandescent as Dumbledore’s naked fury.

"WHO DO YOU THINK COULD DO SUCH A THING CORNELIUS! I HAVE GIVEN WARNING FOR YEARS THAT VOLDEMORT WOULD RETURN AND YOUR FEAR AND MISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN HAS GIVEN HIM THE OPPORTUNITY TO RESURRECT A MAGIC SO INSIDIOUS THAT DARK AND LIGHT WIZARDS UNITED TO DESTROY IT!" Dumbledore was so angry the ground itself quaked and Fudge became grey with shock, fear and horror all at once. "VOLDEMORT HAS CAST A SPELL ON HARRY POTTER AND DOOMED HIM TO SLOWLY TURN INTO A FAITHFUL SERVANT OF THE DARK LORD. BODY AND SOUL, CORNELIUS! HIS VERY SOUL IS EVEN NOW BEING TWISTED AND CORRUPTED INTO THE SERVICE OF THE DARK LORD AND THERE'S NOTHING I CAN DO TO STOP IT!"

"B-but Albus surely you can't expect us to believe that you know who is back! How can this woman be Harry Potter?" stammering at first but scoffing as his confidence and dislike of Dumbledore came flowing back, Fudge drew himself up. Suddenly he froze, mind blank as Dumbledore’s wand drew back and began a movement towards him, an action that would have resulted in his imminent death had it been allowed to finish, such was the anger of Albus Dumbledore greatest light wizard who ever lived. However, this was not to be, for at that moment there was a pop in the sudden silence and a voice shouted ,

"EXPELLIARMUS"

No one could even move or blink as Dumbledore’s wand flew through the air and into the hand of a stranger dressed like a Muggle woman. And yet the voice had been male. Even Dumbledore was taken aback, however when the witch caught his eye and glanced pointedly at Harry and the wand now in her hand, he had a glimmer of understanding. Of course! The elder wand would help if anything could and he hadn't even thought of it in his rage and despair.

The stranger strode towards the limp form that looked like Bellatrix Lestrange and everyone parted for the person who had disarmed Albus Dumbledore. Ignoring them all completely she knelt at Harry's side.

"I'm sorry this happened to you, Harry. I don't have the time to explain now, just know that while the spell can never be fully reversed, I may be able to save your soul and mind from destruction."

Standing up the witch took a firm grip of the wand she held and concentrated, feeling the magic of the earth flow through the feet and the magic of the surrounding wizards swirl into her, the power building and growing. Then she drew on her own power as she intoned.

"I call upon the forces of light and dark, the power of wizardkind and the force of my heart to aid me! Elder Wand!  I call upon you to lend all your power to save the last scion of the Peverell bloodline, victim of a magic so dark that none have used it in 1200 years! Aid me now,” here she paused a scant second to draw breath, then roaring with such force and volume that cracked the roof and shook dust on the bystanders, "FINITE INCANTATUM!" The shockwave was horrendous, all but Dumbledore and the stranger were knocked to the ground at the cataclysmic backlash of magic from the force of that spell. , rising from the bodies of Harry and the fake Harry came a dark chain, attached at one end to a black and seething ball of power so dark that even Dumbledore recoiled in disgust. At the other was a pure white ball of energy, shot with tiny tendrils of Black that came off the chain connecting the two souls. Suddenly the black soul expanded and pushed a rippling lump of sheer evil along the chain toward the white soul, the sight so sickening that many people vomited and several fainted on the spot.

The stranger gave it a look of unadulterated disgust but showed no fear or surprise as she raised the elder wand and lashed at the dark chain with a whip of rainbow coloured fire. The fire struck the chain which shattered conclusively, this time the shockwave bringing even Dumbledore to his knees. All eyes were on her as the stranger turned towards the dark soul, which stretched out tendrils towards her, sickeningly evil and so malevolent that one person in the room went mad with fear. She raised the wand once more, those strange rainbows slashing from her, motions almost faster than sight, severing the tendrils and driving them back toward the dark soul. Finally, the soul hung there, pulsing disgustingly, but defeated. She paused then and looked sharply at the dark mass, a frown growing on her face.

"Reveale!" she incanted, and suddenly the ball changed. Out of its surface came two faces, one of Bellatrix, trapped in a combination of agony and ecstasy, but it was the other face that gave the stranger pause for thought, and horrified the others there. Voldemort stared out at them, his face the same colour as the tendrils and the chain that had bound the souls. He looked worn down, clearly having been defeated by the rainbow magic the stranger cast before.

 , the stranger lowered the elder wand and then handed it to Dumbledore, waking him from his stunned reverie.

"Here is the truth that none of you could face. Here lies the evil soul of Bellatrix Lestrange, entwined with a fragment of the soul of Tom Riddle. Hidden since the night he was attacked inside the head of Harry Potter, now chained to Bellatrix by Voldemort's magic. Here lies a Horcrux." Her voice intoned over the slack-jawed crowd. "Lord Voldemort has a Horcrux and can never be killed while that is so. Which of you is the minister for magic?"

Dumbledore, still shocked but recovering slightly spoke up. "I'm afraid that the minister is the man lying in his own urine at your feet. I am Albus Dumbledore chief Mugwump of the Wizengamot," he said, voice shaking slightly and looking all of his long years.

The stranger smiled at him thinly. "I have broken the spell but, as you know I'm sure, the changes are irreversible. Harry will need help adjusting to what has happened to him, the Wizarding world must be told what has happened this night. Soul magic was eradicated a thousand years ago. Witches, wizards and Muggles alike joined forces in a war to destroy it utterly. This war was expunged from the history of both worlds. Among muggles, however, the clues survived. Their lack of magic Gave them protection from obliviate, and the traces were there for us to find in the history books and folk tales. There are those people in the Muggle world who do not own wands, yet we have a magic of our own and we protect the secret of the soul war. We are not a force of light or dark. We are people of all backgrounds. Even the darkest of us, mass murderers and those who have committed crimes as heinous as any death eater, would have done what I did today. The magic of soul-rending must never be allowed to return to this world."

Dumbledore just stared thoughtfully at her for a minute before nodding slowly. He slowly asked, "I can tell from your appearance that you are of the muggle world. How do you have magic and how did you take that wand?"

From across the room there came a horrific shriek, making them all jump as the soul floating forgotten behind them all lunged towards the strange witch, both faces roaring insanely. She whipped around and extended her hands, with a dreadfully resolute expression on her face. Suddenly a beam of golden light erupted from her palm, producing a sound like Phoenix song as it hit the dark soul which froze and began to expand, cracks of golden light appearing within it until it finally exploded in a dazzling pulse of rainbow coloured light. She turned back to Dumbledore, smiling tiredly. "I'm afraid I must go now, I shall restore Harry's soul to her new body first. She won't wake until I come to help her once more. My strength must return first. You must take her to Hogwarts, it is the only place in magical Britain warded against soul magic." She turned and muttered something under her breath as the white soul sunk slowly towards the body that looked like Bellatrix Lestrange, golden tendrils wrapping around it and washing away the traces of evil.

"Professor Dumbledore," she said quietly, "you asked where my magic came from. Have you ever given thought to squibs and Muggleborns? Did you know that Muggles and wizards exist on a scale of magical ability?" Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully but gave her a look suggesting he knew this was leading somewhere else. She then confirmed it. "Well, it's not true. Muggles and wizards all have magic. What sets them apart is their ability to access that magic. A Muggle may be as powerful as any wizard who's ever lived but they are forever cut off from their powers, never accessing them. Strength of power is a factor, but it is not a simple case of Muggles being without magic at all. Amongst Muggles there exist beings who have access to extreme levels of magical ability. Some of us need no wand, some have access to magic not typically known to humans such as house elf magic or goblin enchantments. We are called Latents. I gained access to powers when I freed my mind from a psychological prison - when I realised that I should have been born female, the mental awakening tapped into my powers."

Dumbledore blinked in shock at this discovery. Everything he knew about magic and muggles was thrown into a new light by this simple yet profound knowledge. He started as she spoke again.

"I must leave now, Professor, I'll see you at Hogwarts soon. Keep Harry safe." and in a burst of rainbow coloured light, she was gone.


End file.
